Country in E Asia, bordered to the N by North
Korea, E by the Sea of Japan, S by the E
China Sea, and W by the Yellow Sea.
government Under the 1987 constitution,
executive power is held by the president, who
is elected directly by popular vote. The
president is restricted to one five-year term
of office, and governs with a cabinet (state
council) headed by a prime minister.
Legislative authority resides in the
single-chamber, 299-deputy national assembly
Kuk Hoe, 224 of whose members are directly
elected for four-year terms by universal
suffrage in single-member constituencies, and
the remainder of whom are appointed in
accordance with a formula designed to reward
the largest single assembly party. The
assembly has the authority to impeach the
president and to override presidential
vetoes. There is also a nine-member
constitutional court, and guarantees of
freedom of speech, press, assembly, and
association are written into the
constitution. The dominant party is the
Democratic Liberal Party (DLP), which has
strong support among the business community
and the military. The main opposition party
is the Party for Peace and Democracy (PPD)
led by Kim Dae Jung and based mainly in the
underdeveloped SW region of Cholla. history
For early history, see Korea, history. The
Republic of Korea was formed out of the zone
south of the 38th parallel of latitude which
was occupied by US troops after Japan's
surrender 1945. The US military government
controlled the country until, following
national elections, an independent republic
was declared 1948. Dr Syngman Rhee, leader of
the right-wing Liberal Party, was the
nation's first president in a constitution
based on the US model. To begin with, the
republic had to cope with a massive influx of
refugees fleeing the Communist regime in the
North; then came the 1950-53 Korean War.
President Syngman Rhee, whose regime had been
accused of corruption, resigned 1960 as a
result of student-led disorder. A new
parliamentary-style constitution gave greater
power to the legislature, and the ensuing
political instability precipitated a military
coup led by Gen Park Chung-Hee 1961. A
presidential system of government was
re-established, with Gen Park elected
president 1963, and a major programme of
industrial development began, involving
government planning and financial support.
This programme, utilizing the nation's
plentiful supply of well-educated and
industrious workers, was remarkably
successful, with rapid industrial growth
during the 1960s and 1970s as South Korea
became a major exporter of light and heavy
industrial goods. Opposition to the
repressive Park regime mounted during the
1970s. In response, martial law was imposed
and in 1972 a new constitution, strengthened
the president's powers. A new clampdown on
political dissent, launched 1975, was
partially relaxed for the 1978 elections, but
brought protests 1979 as economic conditions
briefly deteriorated. President Park was
assassinated later that year by the chief of
the South Korean Central Intelligence Agency,
and martial law was reimposed. An interim
government, led by former prime minister Choi
Kyu-Hah, introduced liberalizing reforms,
releasing opposition leader Kim Dae Jung
1980. However, as anti-government
demonstrations developed, a new dissident
clampdown began, involving the arrest of 30
political leaders, including Kim Dae Jung.
After riots in Kim's home city of Kwangju,
President Choi resigned 1980 and was replaced
by the leader of the army, Gen Chun Doo-Hwan.
A new constitution was adopted and, after
Chun Doo-Hwan was re-elected president 1981,
the new Fifth Republic was proclaimed. Under
President Chun economic growth resumed, but
internal and external criticism of the
suppression of civil liberties continued.
Cautious liberalization was seen prior to the
1985 assembly elections, with the release of
many political prisoners and the return from
exile of Kim Dae-Jung. The opposition parties
emerged in a strengthened position after the
1985 election and proceeded to launch a
campaign for genuine democratization that
forced the Chun regime to frame a new, more
liberal constitution, which was adopted after
a referendum Oct 1987. The ensuing
presidential election was won by the ruling
party's candidate, Roh Tae Woo, amid
opposition charges of fraud. He took over Feb
1988, but in the national assembly elections
Apr 1988 the ruling Democratic Justice Party
(DJP) fell well short of an overall majority.
Only in Feb 1990, when the DJP merged with
two minor opposition parties to form the
Democratic Liberal Party (DLP), was a stable
governing majority secured. The new coalition
declared its in ention of amending the
constitution to replace the presidential
executive system with a parliamentary one,
led by a powerful prime minister drawn from
the majority grouping within the national
assembly, moving South Korea's political
system closer to Japan's model. Since 1953
the constant threat of invasion from the
North has been a key factor in South Korean
politics, helping to justify stern rule
(there were over 800 political prisoners in
August 1989). South Korea has devoted large
resources to modernizing its armed forces,
which are supported in addition by US troops.